20 Richest Criminals of All Time

Posted by Doug Murray on March 13, 2019

Whoever tells you that crime doesn’t pay is wrong. So very, very wrong. The bit that doesn’t pay is getting caught. After all, if you look at some of the richest criminals of all time, it’s clear that crime pays very well indeed, at least while it lasts. All amounts are given in US dollars.

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George Jung (estimated net worth in 2019: $10,000)

The Richest says that George Jung has a net worth of only $10,000 these days. Back in the '70s and '80s, however, it was a different story. As a middle man for the Medellín Cartel, he made between $3 million and $5 million a day in the '70s: that would be in the region of $58 million today. Per day. Most of his adult life has been spent in and out of jail. The movie Blow tells his incredible story.

Lucky Luciano (estimated net worth in 1925: $4 million)

Born in Sicily, one of the best places to visit in September, Lucky Luciano was one of the most notorious Mafia bosses of the 20th century. According to Biography , he had an annual income of $4 million by 1925: that would be as much as $852 billion per year today. Some of the actors who have portrayed him in movies and TV series include Christian Slater, Andy García, Stanley Tucci, Anthony LaPaglia and Vincent Piazza.

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Frank Lucas (estimated net worth in 1976: $52 million)

Biography says that at the height of his career, Frank Lucas had an estimated net worth of $52 million, which would be as much as $541 million today. During the Vietnam War, he used returning soldiers – maybe even the coffins of dead soldiers – to smuggle heroin to the United States, where he was one of the top crime bosses in Harlem. He was sent to prison in 1976 and eventually released in 1991. In the movie American Gangster, Denzel Washington portrays Lucas.

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Salvatore Riina (estimated net worth in 1997: at least $125 million)

During his reign as the head of the Corleonesi faction of the Sicilian Mafia, Salvatore Riina ordered bombings, murders and assassinations of hundreds of people. For 23 years he was a fugitive, but upon his arrest it turned out that he had been living quite openly in Palermo all along. According to The Sun, the court seized assets worth $125 million in 1997. That would be about $285 million today. Riina died in 2017.

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Kenneth Lay (estimated net worth in 2001: $400 million)

Celebrity Net Worth says that at the peak of his career, Kenneth Lay had a net worth of $400 million, which would be between around $760 million in today’s money. As CEO of Enron, he had one of the highest paying jobs in the world and was friends with President George W. Bush. Then, in 2001, Enron went bankrupt – the biggest bankruptcy in the history of the United States – and by 2006, Lay had been found guilty of fraud-related crimes. He died while awaiting sentencing.

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Dennis Kozlowski (estimated net worth in 2004: $600 million)

Celebrity Net Worth says that Dennis Kozlowski has a net worth of $600 million. He used to be CEO of Tyco International but from 2005 and 2014 he was in prison for embezzling millions of dollars from the company. This stolen money helped to finance his extravagant lifestyle, for instance a luxury apartment in New York that had $6,000 shower curtains and $15,000 umbrella dog stands.

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Bernie Madoff (estimated net worth in 2009: $826 million)

According to Reuters, in 2009 Bernie Madoff had a net worth of $826 million, which would be about $1.1 billion today. He was at the head of one of Wall Street’s top market maker firms and a prominent philanthropist. However, he was also running the largest Ponzi scheme in history, which got him a jail sentence of 150 years.

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Al Capone (estimated net worth in 1929: $100 million)

According to Biography, by 1929 notorious Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone had a fortune of $100 million: or as much as $18.6 billion in today’s money. Actors who have played him in the many movies about him include Robert De Niro, Rod Steiger, F. Murray Abraham and Anthony LaPaglia. He was convicted of tax evasion and spent the last years of his life in ill health.

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Meyer Lansky (estimated net worth in 1967: $300 million)

According to American Mafia, Meyer Lansky had an estimated net worth of $300 million in 1967. That would be something like $6.8 billion in today’s money. By the time he died in 1983, however, his estate was worth only $57,000. Known as the “mob’s accountant,” he was friends with Bugsy Siegel and Lucky Luciano and has been portrayed in film and TV by actors like Dustin Hoffman, Ben Kingsley, Richard Dreyfuss and Anatol Yusef.

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Allen Stanford (estimated net worth in 2008: $2.2 billion)

Investopedia says that by 2008, Allen Stanford had an estimated net worth of $2.2 billion, which would be worth about $2.9 billion today. He was a financier and cricket sponsor who lived the high life and even received a knighthood from the government of Antigua and Barbuda, one of the Caribbean’s top islands. In 2012, however, he was convicted of a variety of fraud charges and sentenced to 110 years in prison.

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Leona Helmsley (estimated net worth in 2007: $4 billion)

When Leona Helmsley died in 2007, the New York Times reported that her net worth was an estimated $4 billion. Most of her fortune was left to a charitable trust, but her dog also inherited $12 million. In her heyday, she was called the “Queen of Mean.” In 1992 she went to prison for 18 months for tax evasion and became known as one of the most notorious celebrity tax cheats.

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Elizabeth Holmes (estimated net worth in 2015: $4.5 billion)

Forbes estimated that Elizabeth Holmes had a net worth of $4.5 billion. She was an inspiration as one of the richest women who became CEO before 30, having founded Theranos when she was only 19. She lost it all in 2018, when she was accused of fraud, paid a fine of $500,000 and relinquished her shares in the company.

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Khun Sa (estimated net worth in 1996: $5 billion)

From the mid-70s to the mid-90s, Khun Sa was a warlord who controlled much of the drug trade in the Golden Triangle. He surrendered to the Burmese government in 1996 and retired from a life of crime with a vast fortune: according to The Richest, he had a net worth of $5 billion. When he retired, the bulk of the world’s opium production moved from the Golden Triangle to Afghanistan. He became a businessman and died in 2007.

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Carlos Lehder (estimated net worth in 1983: $2.7 billion)

Carlos Lehder was one of the kingpins in the Medellín Cartel and a close associate of George Jung. Like Pablo Escobar, he also offered to pay Colombia’s external debt because he was so rich: in around 1983, he had an estimated net worth of $2.7 billion, according to Celebrity Net Worth. In today’s money that would be as much as $14.5 billion. After his capture in the mid-80s, he was extradited to the United States. He is currently serving a sentence of life without parole and an additional 135 years.

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Viktor Bout (estimated net worth in 2008: $6 billion)

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has become one of the countries with the most billionaires. One Russian billionaire who used his Soviet military experience to build up his personal wealth is Viktor Bout. In 2008 he was said to have a net worth of $6 billion according to the Daily Mail: about $7.3 billion in today’s money. He made his fortune through the sale of arms, but his activities led to a conviction for terror-related charges.

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Dawood Ibrahim (estimated net worth in 2015: $6.7 billion)

India Today says that in 2015, Forbes estimated Dawood Ibrahim’s net worth at $6.7 billion. He is the founder of the Mumbai crime syndicate D-Company, which has inspired Bollywood films like Company. He’s also believed to have been involved in terror attacks in Mumbai and is wanted as a global terrorist. He may be living in Karachi or Dubai. If you have information that can lead to his capture, you can get a $25 million reward and really enjoy Dubai’s beautiful sunsets.

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Semion Mogelivich (estimated net worth in 2018: $10 billion)

A Quora thread says that Semion Mogelivich has an estimated net worth of $10 billion, but nobody can say for certain just how much the Ukrainian-born Russian mob boss really has to his name. He’s been on the FBI’s Most Wanted list and has managed to escape the law for years. He lives freely in Moscow and has powerful political connections.

In 2017, Forbes reported that authorities in the United States were looking for at least $14 billion in assets from Joaquín Guzmán, better known as El Chapo. At the time, he was on trial for his drug-trafficking activities. As head of the Sinaloa Cartel, he was one of the most powerful drug traffickers in Mexico and he features as a character in Narcos: Mexico.

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Amado Carrillo Fuentes (estimated net worth in 1997: $25 billion)

One of the characters from Narcos and Narcos: Mexico was Amado Carrillo Fuentes or "The Lord of the Skies." In real life he was the head of the Juaréz Cartel and used large fleets of jets to transport drugs. After his death in 1997, The Independent estimated his net worth at $25 billion, which would be as much as $56.8 billion today. If the stars who regret plastic surgery aren’t enough to make you rethink getting that work done, maybe the drug lord’s end will: he died after plastic surgery to change his appearance so authorities wouldn’t be able to capture him.

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Pablo Escobar (estimated net worth in 1993: $30 billion)

These days, Medellín is one of the best places to visit in August, but during Pablo Escobar’s reign it was one of the most dangerous cities in the world. The cocaine king was so rich that he once offered to pay Colombia’s foreign debt. At the time of his death he was worth an estimated $30 billion, according to Bankrate. In today’s money that would be as much as $85.2 billion, which would put him firmly in the top 10 of the world’s richest people. No wonder his life has been the subject of several movies and TV series like Narcos.